Package assembly for keeping, storing, displaying and handling disc-shaped products

ABSTRACT

A package assembly for keeping, storing, displaying and handling disc-shaped products, such as compact discs and the like, wherein the assembly is comprised of a sleeve or pocket that is produced by folding and/or gluing a first paperboard or cardboard-like blank, and a slide or tray which is intended to removably receive at least one disc-shaped product and which is produced by folding and/or gluing a second paperboard or cardboard-like blank, wherein the sleeve has an opening through which the product-carrying slide can be inserted and withdrawn, wherein the slide includes product-constraining means, and wherein the sleeve and the slide include mutually coacting means which function to maximize the extent to which the slide can be withdrawn from the sleeve for the removal and insertion of a product into the space intended therefor. According to the invention, a folded part of the slide in the region of its bottom part functions both as a part of a product-receiving pocket and as a partition wall that enables two products to be received in mutually parallel and mutually separated relationship, wherein the folded part includes a separate foldable flap that forms a bottom abutment for products received on respective sides of the partition wall, wherein the bottom abutment of said flap also functions to restrict the extend to which the slide can be withdrawn from the sleeve.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a package assembly for keeping,storing, displaying and handling disc-shaped products, such as compactdiscs and the like, wherein the assembly is comprised of a sleeve orpocket that is produced by folding and/or gluing a first paperboard orcardboard-like blank, and a slide or tray which is intended to removablyreceive at least one disc-shaped product and which is produced byfolding and/or gluing a second paperboard or cardboard-like blank,wherein the sleeve has an opening through which the product-carryingslide can be inserted and withdrawn, wherein the slide includesproduct-constraining means, and wherein the sleeve and the slide includemutually coacting means which function to maximize the extent to whichthe slide can be withdrawn from the sleeve for the removal and insertionof a product into the space intended therefor.

BACKGROUND IF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,452 teaches a case of the kind defined in thepreamble of the main claim. This known case includes a product-carryingtray or slide that can be inserted into a sleeve or pocket section. Theextent to which the slide can be withdrawn from the sleeve is restrictedby mutually coacting stop members on the slide and the sleeve. Both theconstruction and the use of this known case have disadvantages. In orderto enable a package assembly to be mass-produced at favourable costs, itis necessary to be able to produce the component parts of the assemblyin an automatic machine as far as possible. The known assembly has acomplex construction and the production costs of each assembly areapparently very high. Certain drawbacks are also revealed when using theknown disc assembly. Normal handling of a package assembly of this kindinvolves the user gripping the assembly between the thumb and indexfinger of one hand while pressing towards respective opposing side edgesof the assembly and holding the assembly firmly while withdrawing theslide from the sleeve with the other hand. The grip between thumb andindex finger causes the sleeve to flex outwards towards the surface thatfaces towards the viewer, thereby causing side flaps on the slide toslip over and past the stop members on the sleeve, such as to allow theslide to be withrawn beyond its intended limit. If the disc assembly isheld in a position other than flat, there is also the danger that theproduct will fall out of the sleeve/slide and be damaged in the process.The slide of the known package assembly can only accommodate oneproduct, and hence that part of the assembly sleeve that functions as alid is configured as a pocket in which printed information can bestored, for instance.

The sleeve is provided with a cover flap which is folded into abutmentwith another sleeve surface. Because of the inherent resiliency of thematerial used, the cover flap tends to spring out and therewith make itdifficult to store the package assembly, unless the cover flap issecured to another sleeve surface in some way or another.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a package assembly of the kind definedin the introduction and having the features set forth in thecharacterizing clause of claim 1.

A package assembly of this kind has many advantages in relation to knownpackage assemblies. For instance, the slide partition panel formed bythe bottom part of the blank enables two products to be placed in theslide while mutually separated by said partition panel. The flap that isformed partially from the partition panel functions as a bottom abutmentfor products that are placed on respective sides of said partition wall.When folded, i.e. when extending the slide upwards along the surface ofthe partition wall that faces towards the viewer, the bottom of the flapwill be present on both sides of the partition wall. Because the flapstrives to lie against the internal surface of the sleeve that facestowards the viewer and also functions as that part of the slide whichcoacts with means bent in the upper sleeve part, the flap will never beable to slide beneath and past said means and will therewith ensure thatthe extent to which the slide can be withdrawn from the sleeve willalways be limited maximum, although to an extent that will enable theuser to grip one and/or the other of said products and remove the samefrom the slide, or conversely return one and/or the other product to theintended space in the slide, whereafter the cover part is folded downand the slide inserted as a unit into the sleeve. Because the sleeve hasno cover member, the inventive package assembly can be easily stored inexisting storage racks. Other features of the inventive packageassembly, particularly with respect to the configuration of the slideand sleeve, will be evident from the following depending claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention will be more readily understood and furtherfeatures thereof made apparent, the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 illustrates a prepared paperboard blank from which there isfabricated a first part of the inventive package assembly, i.e. theslide;

FIG. 2 illustrates a slide that has been fabricated from the blank ofFIG. 1 by folding/gluing and that is in a state ready to receive adisc-shaped product;

FIG. 3 illustrates a prepared paperboard blank from which there isfabricated a second part of the inventive package assembly, i.e. thesleeve;

FIG. 4 illustrates a sleeve that has been fabricated by bending/gluingthe blank in FIG. 3 and which is ready to receive and coact with theslide shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates the slide and the sleeve according to FIGS. 14 in amutually cooperating state in which the slide is inserted fully into thesleeve;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an inventivepackage assembly comprising a slide and a sleeve;

FIG. 7 illustrates a further embodiment of the inventive packageassembly.

FIG. 7a illustrates a slide of the embodiment of the inventive packageassembly of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 7b illustrates a sleeve of the embodiment of the inventive packageassembly of FIG. 7.

Shown in FIG. 1 is an inventive package assembly which includes a slide,generally indicated by reference numeral 10, said slide constituting oneof two major component parts of the novel package assembly. The slide 10is fabricated from an elongated paperboard blank that includes a firstpanel 11 and a second panel 12 that are intended to be folded along thetransverse folding line 13 and then glued together to form a panel 14(FIG. 2) of double thickness. (The panel 14 may, of course, be of singlethickness). The panel 14 is intended to form a slide cover member, asdescribed hereinafter. There next follows two mutually spaced andmutually parallel fold lines 15, 16. The distance between the fold lines15, 16 defines the thickness of the fabricated slide 10. There nextfollows a panel 17 from which the rear side of the pocket-like slide 10is formed and against which the disc-shaped product (not shown) lies.The panel 17 can be folded rearwardly about a fold line 18, as explainedin more detail below. The lower part of the panel 17 is terminated in acentre flap 18, wherein two mutually parallel and mutually spaced foldlines 19, 20 define the thickness of the slide bottom against which thedisc-shaped product rests. Flaps 21 and 22 are cut out on respectivesides of the centre flap 18 and can each be folded along a respectivefold line 21' and 22' that forms a continuation of the lower fold line20. There then follows a recess lowermost 23. Subsequent to folding theblank, two longitudinally extending fold lines 24, 25 on respectivesides of the panel 23 will define together with the folded panel 23 anupwardly open pocket-like space (FIG. 2) in which the disc-shapedproduct is placed. The cut-out or recess in the panel 23 enables thedisc-shaped product to be gripped without touching any sensitive part ofthe product, e.g. the sensitive surface of a compact disc. The flaps24', 25' thus form slide side-walls and slide guides.

FIG. 2 shows a slide 10 that has been fabricated in the aforedescribedmanner. It will be noted that the opening 26 provided in the panel 17functions as a finger grip when withdrawing the slide 10 from the sleeveto said restricted maximum extent, as explained in more detailhereinafter.

The aforedescribed slide 10 is intended to cooperate with the sleeve ofthe novel package assembly. The sleeve will now be described withreference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

Shown in FIG. 3 is an elongated paperboard blank, generally indicated atreference numeral 3, from which there is fabricated an upwardly opensleeve that coacts with the slide 10. The blank 30 has a first panel 31that defines a first closure part that may include a recessed upper edgepart or a notch cut into said edge part (at 32). The thickness of thefolded slide-receiving sleeve 30 is defined by two transverse andmutually parallel fold lines 33, 34. A second panel 35 forms a secondclosure part and has mutually opposite and outwardly projecting flapparts 36, 37. Each of the flap parts 36, 37 has two mutually paralleland mutually spaced fold lines 36', 36" and 37', 37" respectively, suchas to form upstanding surfaces S. The flaps or guides 40, 41 on thepanel 39 will then be located beneath the surfaces S. In stage 3, thepanel 31 is folded along the fold lines 33, 34 and glued to the surfacesS. Folding of the panel 31 results in a sleeve 11 that is open solelyupwards. FIG. 4 shows in broken lines the folded state of the panel 39,whose transverse edge part 43 is adapted to form a stop or restrictingabutment.

FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrate a fabricated slide 10, intended to accommodatethe disc-shaped product in the aforedescribed manner, and a sleeve 30.As before mentioned, the slide is secured in the sleeve in a mannerwhich allows the slide to be withdrawn only to a limited maximum extent.The Figures clearly show the coaction between slide 10 and sleeve 30 andillustrate the manner in which the mutually coacting locking or latchingmeans between the upstanding flaps 21, 22 of the slide 10 and theabutment edge 43 of the sleeve enable the slide 10 to be withdrawn fromthe sleeve to only a limited extent. It will be noted that the fold line18 on the slide 10 (FIG. 1) is provided to enable the panel 17 to befolded back to facilitate removal of the product.

FIG. 5 is a perspective and partially broken view that illustrates theslide 10 in its maximum withdrawal position in relation to the sleeve30, and it will be evident from the aforegoing that both the slide 10,i.e. the pocket-like part of the novel package assembly in which thedisc-shaped product rests, and the slide-embracing sleeve 30 are soconfigured that the package assembly (with the slide 10 inserted in thesleeve 30) will present two opposite large surfaces and four narrow sideor edge surfaces, on which selected information/means of identificationmay conveniently be printedor otherwise applied. For instance, when theproducts are to be displayed for sale upstanding in a sales rack, oneupwardly facing edge surface of the package can be provided with anydesired information relating to the contents of the package, so as toenable the package to be identified quickly without needing to makeother time-consuming searches.

An inventive package assembly may readily be constructed to enable theslide 10 to accommodate, for instance, two disc-shaped products. In thiscase, the slide 10 is provided with a permanent or removable partitionwall that separates two such products one from the other. The thicknessof the slide 10 and the sleeve 30, i.e. the distance between the foldlines 15, 16 (FIG. 1) and the fold lines (33, 34; 36'; 37', 37" (FIG. 3)is determined with respect to whether the slide 10 shall accommodate oneor more products. The space shall also accommodate an information sheetdescribing the contents of the product. It will also be evident from thedrawings that when the slide 10 is withdrawn to said maximum extent fromthe sleeve 30, the disc-shaped product will be exposed to an extentcorresponding preferably to half its diameter and can then be removedfrom the slide, either by gripping the edges of the product betweenthumb and index finger of one hand, or by bending down the panel 17 inthe slide 10 and gripping the product at its centre.

FIG. 6 illustrates a second embodiment of the inventive packageassembly, in which the inwardly bent mutually opposing flaps 61, 62 ofthe sleeve 60 have mutually opposing abutment edges 63, 64. Theseabutment edges 63, 64 have the same function as the abutment edge 43 ofthe sleeve 30 illustrated in FIG. 3, for instance. In the modifiedversion shown in FIG. 6, the slide 10 has a foldable pocket-part 65,wherein the outer edges of the folded part (at 66) abut the abutmentedges 63, 64 and thus allow the slide to be withdrawn from the sleevesolely to only a limited extent. The principle, however, is the same asthe principle of the FIG. 5 embodiment for instance, i.e. that slide andsleeve shall include mutually coacting latching means. The edges 61, 62of the sleeve 60 function as side guides for a product placed in theslide 10. This embodiment has been included to show that the latchingarrangement between slide and sleeve that functions to allow the slideto be withdrawn from the sleeve solely to a limited extent can also beachieved in ways other than through the medium of flaps and abutmentedges according to FIGS. 1-5.

FIGS. 7, 7a and 7b illustrate a further embodiment of a package assemblyfor compact discs or like products, comprising a prepared firstsheet-like blank comprised of cardboard, paperboard or some equivalentmaterial, which is useful in the fabrication of a product-receivingslide (FIG. 7a), and a prepared second sheet-like blank comprised ofcardboard, paperboard, or some equivalent material, that is useful infabricating a slide-receiving sleeve 80' (FIG. 7b). FIG. 7 illustratesthat folding of the blank will result in a slide 70 which is capable ofreceiving at least one product P. FIG. 7 illustrates the case in whichthe slide 70 is withdrawn to its maximum extent from the sleeve 80' thathas been fabricated by folding the blank shown in FIG. 7b, such as toprovide access to the product P.

Similar to the earlier embodiments, the slide 70 and the sleeve 80' arefabricated by folding/gluing the respective prepared blanks shown inFIGS. 7a and 7b.

The first sheet-like blank (the slide) 70 includes in the upper part(FIG. 7a) a part 73 (single or double thickness material) that serves asa cover member and that is foldable along mutually parallel andtransversely extending fold lines 71, 72. The blank 70 (FIG. 7a) isprepared so as to provide a lower panel 74 for forming a product storagespace (FIG. 7). The lower panel 74 has a preferably rounded lower edgepart that is delimited upwardly by a transverse fold line 75. The blank70 (FIG. 7a) also includes a panel 80 that is located above the panel 74as seen in the plane of the drawing and that is delimited downwardly byfold lines 75 and upwardly by a fold line 79, this latter fold line 79constituting a lower limitation of a further panel that is delimitedupwardly by the aforesaid double fold lines 71, 72. A flap 76 is cut outof the blank 70 (FIG. 7a) on three sides thereof, and extends from thepanel 74 into the panel 80 located thereabove. The flap 76 is foldablealong mutually parallel and mutually spaced transverse fold lines 77, 78located in the panel 80. The fold line 75 thus extends transverselyacross the flap 76. When folding the panel 74 upwards, the panel will beorientated parallel with the panel 80, whereafter the flap 76 is foldedalong the fold lines 77, 78 and orientated so as to extend approximatelycentrally along the front surface of the folded panel 74 (FIG. 7).

When the first sheet-like blank 70 is folded in the aforedescribedmanner, the panel 74 will form a wall that partions respective pocketsformed on each side thereof, the common bottom of both pockets beingdefined by the fold lines 77, 78 of the flap 76. This will be evidentfrom FIG. 7. In the package assembly exemplified in FIG. 7, a product P,e.g. a compact disc, is placed so as to lie against the surface of thepanel 75 which faces towards the viewer, wherewith the bottom part ofthe product P will lie against that part of the bent flap 76 which isdefined by the fold lines 77, 78 and which serves as a bottom surface.However, since these fold lines 77, 78 also serve as a bottom abutment,the other pocket defined by the surface of the panel 74 distal from theviewer and the rearwardly lying panel 80 in the slide 70 will also beable to removably receive a second product (not shown), which is therebyseparated from the first product P that faces towards the viewer. Thissecond product may either comprise printed information relating to thefirst product or may be a second disc-shaped product.

In order to support the product P laterally and to prevent the productfrom moving sideways as a result of play that may occur between sleeveand slide, the panel 74 includes mutually opposing flaps 76', 76" thatin the folded state of the panel 74 will flank the central flap 76 andtherewith form product side supports (see FIG. 7), which thus have threeabutment surfaces, namely the bottom abutment edge of the flap 76 andthe two flanking side flaps 76', 76". When the product P, or the productP and a further product, is/are placed on one side or a respective sideof the partition wall (the folded panel 74), the cover member 73 isfolded down and the slide and its contents are now ready for insertioninto the sleeve, as hereinafter described in more detail.

The aforedescribed slide 70 is intended to coact with a sleeve that hasbeen fabricated from a prepared, elongated paperboard blank 80' (FIG.7b). The blank 80' is, in principle, composed in the same manner as inthe earlier described embodiments (c.f., for instance, FIG. 3) and isfolded/glued so as to form an upwardly open sleeve, wherein the panel 81shown in FIG. 7b, particularly the edge part 82 of said panel will form,when folded, a stop means that limits the extent to which the slide 70can be withdrawn from the sleeve 80', as described in more detail below.

Subsequent to having inserted the slide 70 and its contents into thesleeve 80', there is obtained a generally rectangular package. As shownin FIG. 7, a finger grip 85 is provided for limited withdrawal of theslide 70 from the sleeve 80'. As the slide 70 is withdrawn from thesleeve 80', the inwardly folded panel 81 of the sleeve 80', and thenparticularly the bottom edge part 82 of said panel, is guided in betweenthe product P and the folded flap 76 and caused to lie against the samebottom abutment surface as that against which the product P abuts. Thepanel 81 has a frusto-conical shape and consequently its sloping sideedges will slide in beneath the side flaps 76', 76" that flank the flap76 and therewith further ensure that the slide can only be withdrawnfrom the sleeve 80' to a maximum limited extent. FIG. 7 thus shows theslide 70 withdrawn to its limited maximum extent from the sleeve 80' andit will be seen that the outer periphery of the product P will thenproject slightly beyond the rounded periphery of the panel 74, so as toenable the product P to be gripped between the thumb and index finger ofone hand (the arrows A, A') and removed from the slide 70 with the otherhand. If required, the panel 81 of the slide 70 can be flexed rearwardlyabove the fold line 79 so as to provide a better grip on the product.

It will be noted that although the inherent springiness of the flap 76on the slide 70 causes the flap to strive to move upwards, the flap willbe pressed back by the front-wall panel 84 of the sleeve 80'. Thisensures the aforedescribed latching engagement between the flap bottom77, 78 of the slide 70 and the edge 82 of the sleeve for maximumwithdrawal of the slide 70.

As will be understood by one skilled in this art, variants of this lastdescribed embodiment are conceivable. For instance, the folded flap 76on the slide 70 may be longer in its transversal direction than the flapillustrated in FIG. 7. It is also conceivable to provide two such flaps76, in that case the abutment part 82 must, of course, be configured ina manner adapted thereto.

It will also be understood by the person skilled in this art that theinvention is not restricted to the aforedescribed and illustratedembodiments and that modifications can be made within the scope of thefollowing claims.

We claim:
 1. A package assembly for keeping, storing, displaying andhandling disc-shaped products, wherein the assembly is comprised of asleeve that is produced by fabricating a first paperboard blank, and aslide to removably receive at least one disc-shaped product and which isproduced by fabricating a second paperboard blank, wherein the sleevehas an opening through which the product-carrying slide can be insertedand withdrawn, wherein the slide includes product-constraining flaps,and wherein the sleeve and the slide mutually function to maximize theextent to which the slide can be withdrawn from the sleeve for theremoval and insertion of said product into the space intended therefor,characterized in that a folded part of the slide in the region of itsbottom part functions both as a part of a product-receiving pocket andas a partition wall that enables two products to be received in mutuallyparallel and mutually separated relationship, wherein the folded partincludes a separate foldable first flap that forms a bottom abutment forproducts received on respective sides of the partition wall, wherein thebottom abutment of said first flap also functions to restrict the extentto which the slide can be withdrawn from the sleeve, and wherein thepart of the slide that functions as a partition wall includes integrallytherewith mutually opposing and foldable side flaps that function asside abutments for the product receivable on one side of the partitionwall and also function as further abutment means for the slide inachieving limited maximum withdrawal of the slide from the sleeve. 2.The package assembly of claim 1, wherein the slide first flap thatfunctions as the bottom abutment is created by cut-outs in two adjacentpanels and the bottom part of the first flap is comprised of twomutually parallel and mutually spaced fold lines, the space between saidfold lines forming said bottom abutment.
 3. The package assembly ofclaim 1, wherein free parts of the first flap on the folded slide areessentially in abutment with a front side of the partition wall and abottom free end of the partition wall is situated between a rear surfaceof the first flap and the slide panel.
 4. The package assembly of claim1, wherein a slide panel that functions as an intermediate wall isgenerally circular in shape.
 5. The package assembly of claim 1, whereinthe slide is adapted to receive at least one product, said product isinsertable into the sleeve and withdrawable therefrom to only a limitedmaximum extent, and wherein the sleeve has in a region of its openingthe inwardly folded second flap that is adapted to coact with the slidefirst flap that functions as a bottom abutment surface for the productto prevent the complete withdrawal of the slide from the sleeve.
 6. Thepackage assembly of claim 5, wherein the sleeve second flap isfrusto-conical in shape and has sloping edges and said sloping edgeswith said side flaps, said side flaps flanking the first flap.
 7. Thepackage assembly of claim 5, wherein the folded second flap on thesleeve has a frusto-conical configuration.
 8. The package assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the sleeve and the slide are so configured and shapedand have such thickness as to enable printed information to be appliedto both the side surfaces and edge surfaces.
 9. The package assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the slide has a foldable cover having a bottom partwhich forms a part that lies flush with the sleeve opening after foldingthe cover and with the slide fully inserted into the sleeve.
 10. Thepackage assembly of claim 1, wherein the part of the slide thatfunctions as said partition wall includes integrally therewith mutuallyopposing and foldable side flaps that function as side abutments for theproduct receivable on one side of the partition wall and also functionsas further abutment means for the slide in achieving limited maximumwithdrawal of the slide from the sleeve; wherein the first flap thatfunctions as a bottom abutment is created by cut-outs in two adjacentpanels and the bottom part of the first flap is comprised of twomutually parallel and mutually spaced fold lines located in the panel,wherein the space between said fold lines forms said bottom abutment;wherein the free parts of the first flap on the folded slide areessentially in abutment with the front side of the partition wall and abottom free end of the partition wall is situated between the rearsurface of the flat and the slide panel; wherein the slide panel thatfunctions as an intermediate wall is generally circular in shape;wherein the slide has a foldable cover having a bottom part which formsa part that lies flush with the sleeve opening after folding the coverand with the slide fully inserted into the sleeve; wherein the sleevehas in the region of its opening an inwardly folded second flap that isadapted to coact with the slide first flap that functions as a bottomabutment surface for a product, in a manner such as to prevent thecomplete withdrawal of the slide from the sleeve; wherein the sleevesecond flap is frusto-conical in shape and its sloping edges coact withside flaps that flank the first flap; wherein the folded second flap onthe sleeve has a frusto-conical configuration; and wherein the sleeveand the slide are so configured and shaped and have such thickness as toenable printed information to be applied to both side surfaces and edgesurfaces.